This is an unvarnished account of my installation of Moodle onto my laptop computer. I had to use my Gaming computer because Moodle only runs on Windows XP at this point, though this should pose little problem to most people. Italicized portions are copied directly from the Moodle.org website.
About Moodle
Moodle (Modular Object-Oriented Dynamic Learning Environment) is an Open SourceCourse Management System (CMS), also known as a Learning Management System (LMS) or a Virtual Learning Environment (VLE). It has become very popular among educators around the world as a tool for creating online dynamic web sites for their students. To work, it needs to be installed on a web server somewhere, either on one of your own computers or one at a web hosting company.
What is Moodle?
The focus of the Moodle project is always on giving educators the best tools to manage and promote learning, but there are many ways to use Moodle:
Moodle has features that allow it to scale to very large deployments and hundreds of thousands of students, yet it can also be used for a primary school or an education hobbyist.
Many institutions (do they mean “instructors”?) use it as their platform to conduct fully online courses, while some use it simply to augment face-to-face courses (known as blended learning).
Many of our users love to use the many activity modules (such as Forums, Wikis, Databases and so on) to build richly collaborative communities of learning around their subject matter (in the social constructionist tradition), while others prefer to use Moodle as a way to deliver content to students (such as standard SCORM packages) and assess learning using assignments or quizzes.
Our demonstration site is a full Moodle site with some sample courses that you can try as a teacher, student or even an administrator. Don't worry about making a mess, the whole site is reset to a clean state every hour.
► Demonstration site
(Redirected from Installing Apache, MySQL and PHP) Jump to: navigation, search AMP, stands for Apache, MySQL & PHP. Moodle is written in a scripting language called PHP and stores most of its data in a database. The recommended database is MySQL. Before installing Moodle you must have a working PHP installation and a working database to turn your computer into a functional web server platform. As individual applications, Apache, MySQL and PHP can be tricky to set up for average computer users. Moodle uses one of the AMP programs to make the process easier. When you install a Moodle AMP package it installs both the server, database, PHP and Moodle itself with their basic interconnections already made. In 2008, Moodle is rolled into XAMPP (which includes Perl) in the Windows complete package and into MAMP for the Mac OS complete package. Of course, the [Standard install packages] contains just the Moodle program. TIP:Installing Moodle for the first timeon a Localhost (a stand alone computer) is easy and can be a very useful tool even if a web based production Moodle Server is available for use.
I decide to follow the Tip’s advice and install the complete Windows package on my laptop. I was going to use my HP Pavilion DV2000, but it is loaded with Vista, which is incompatable with Moodle. I will therefore use my gaming computer, an Alienware laptop running Windows XP SP3. I’m going to install Moodle on it using the following instructions:
Complete install packages for Windows
From MoodleDocs Jump to: navigation, search Complete install packages are available from Moodle.org's Windows download page. The packages are designed for new installations on a server or standalone computer. Please note Moodle.org's [Standard install packages] only contain the Moodle code. This document provides instructions for using the Windows packages. Separate instructions are available for Mac OS X packages. The complete install packages allow Moodle to be installed, along with the prerequisites that includes a web server, database and scripting language (Apache, MySQL and PHP in this case). Several versions of the complete install package are available. The instructions on the download page provide guidance on which version is likely to be most suitable. In short, complete install packages are designed to create a matched webserver and Moodle site on a standalone computer with minimal of effort.
We shall see. Install complete package process The complete install package is a zip file that contains a webserver called Apache, plus Moodle and Moodle's required MySQL database and PHP program. There are three basic parts to the this install process.
Download and unpack the complete install package.
Start the webserver.
Install Moodle using a web browser.
First create file structure Download the package Download Windows packed-zip file from Moodle. Unpack the package Unpack (extract files by clicking on) the zip file you downloaded to a drive or partition of your choice. The extract process will create three files ("Start Moodle", "Stop Moodle", and "README") and a subfolder called "server".
*
Do NOT rename the "server" subfolder Note: There will also be a folder under this server subfolder, called \moodle that holds the Moodle program. TIP: Create a folder and extract the files there. For example, you might have one folder called Moodle193 and another one called Moodle187 for different versions or purposes. TIP:Make path to "server" subfolder simple. Best way if it will be in drive root. Like "D:\moodle193\server". Long path especially with any strange symbols can make XAMPP not working properly.
To make it simple I installed Moodle in Program Files \ Moodle. The icons for the program are very user friendly.
Second - start the webserver Now you are ready to start the webserver. Use the "Start Moodle.exe" file which you should find in the top directory. Once the "Start Moodle.exe" program is open, don't close it, use "Stop Moodle.exe" for that purpose. Note: These programs control both Apache and MySQL programs that operate the webserver. Some sites will individually start and stop Apache and MySQL with the Xampp bat files found in the "server" subfolder. Tip: Alternatively, on a stand alone computer with several potential webservers that might be running, you can use the "xampp_restart.exe" file in the "server" subfolder. Tip: You can also add shortcuts to the commands that start and stop the site in your Windows "start" menu. Now you are ready to start the Moodle installation. Warning:Windows XP requires the msvcr71.dll library file in order to run Xampp. Installing the .Net 1.1 framework (not .Net 2.0 and upper) could resolve it. You can also search for the file on Google, download it and copy it into the server/apache/bin folder.
When I click on “Start Moodle” a command window opens up and says that XAMP is being loaded. Then it closes and I’m not sure if anything happened. I start it again. It says that the apache file “httpd.exe” is already running. But there is nothing graphic to indicate that it is running. I check the Processes that are running using the Task Manager and see that indeed “httpd.exe” is running. As a test I hit the “Stop Moodle” button. A command window comes up saying “xampp is stopped” and the process disappears from the list. I restart xampp and begin step 3. Third - start Moodle installation Start your web browser and type localhost, or http://127.0.0.1 or http://localhost in the address bar. You will either start your first time Moodle installation or if it is already installed you will enter the Moodle site's Front Page or Login screen. Tip: After Moodle installs, put the site in your "favorites" or as a "bookmark" in you browser.
Though I usually use Firefox as my browser, I start moodle with Internet Explorer since every PC will have that. IE comes up with some settings dealing with Intranets, which I am unfamiliar with. There is a help screen that comes up with info on Intranets; it’s a private network using internet protocols. Because the administrator usually “locks the door” on an intranet so that they can only be used by those inside, there is less security within the intranet. I am going to see how well I can install Moodle without changing these settings.
I set the language for English and hit the button. I pass all the setting requirements. Oddly the “next” and “back” buttons look like they are not showing any text. However what is happening is that the font size on the buttons and typeable windows is set to 1 or something, meaning I can’t read them. I copy what’s in the windows and paste the text into Notepad so I can read it. The default web address is “localhost”. The directory is moodle\server\moodle. Data directory is moodle\server/moodledata (yes, that was a slash instead of a backslash…don’t know why). This all looks OK as far as I can tell, so I click next.
For Database configuration I stick with the presets, naming it “Moodle”, no password, and “mdl_” for Tables prefix. My computer passes the Server Checks. I don’t elect to download any language packs, but it’s interesting that they are available. I wonder if students can switch between English and Spanish. This would be a boon to ELD students and their parents.
It finishes with “Configuration completed” and tells me “config.php has been successfully created”. NOTE: As I click through each of these screens IE beeps and asks about the Intranet settings, which I am not messing with at the moment. I accept the license and it begins “Setting up database”. This takes about a minute. It then goes through “Setting up module tables”. After another minute it says “workshop tables have been set up correctly”. It goes through several pages of “plugin”, “backup”, “blocks”, and “tables”.
It finally arrives at the “Setup administrator account” page. I set my username as “admin” and the password as “moodle”. Naturally, if this were to be set up for internet access I would have a complicated and arcane password. Then a “Front Page Settings” page came up. I think this relates to the Microsoft Front Page software.
When I click on “Save” it takes me to my BEAUTIFUL NEW MOODLE PAGE!!! There’s a calendar, and a frame for courses and users and grades, and it looks just like a Wiki or a Blog would look. I’ll admit, I’m pretty excited to see what I can do with it! Moodle on Now you are ready to Moodle ! The Site Administration block is on the left, the "Turn edit on" button in the upper right corner, withe the site description block just below it. Congratulations - Moodle has been installed This finishes the installation of a complete package. Type http://localhost in your browser and Moodle will open. Your next task will be to configure Moodle to meet your needs. Don't worry, it is easy to change any of the settings now that Moodle is up and running.
Setting up a Course
NOTE: I am still having the problem where the font of the text boxes is 1 pt. which makes it very difficult to see. I am not sure how to change this so I am just copying the text onto another document so I can see it clearly.
When you are logged in as a Site Administrator you have several options in a frame on the left side of the screen. I select Courses à Add/Edit courses. This brings up the “Course Categories” screen The first course category is “Miscellaneous”. This can be changed by clicking on the icon of the hand and pencil, “Edit this category”. I changed the category to “English” and clicked on the “Add new course” button. I give it the Full name “English X”, the Short name “EX” and the D number X1. I list a number of names for Roles (administrator, course creator, teacher). I OK the screen that comes up and it takes me to my “English X” class page.
The top of the screen shows where in the hierarchy this class sits. It is after the overall site name. As I click on other links such as “News” I see how these pages are under the class name “E.X”. Selecting the “Turn Editing On” button gives you a number of options. You can create a News forum that will list all the most recent changes on the site. The class is broken up into classes, making organization easy. Each week has a number of resources that can be added, like text pages or web pages, that can be edited and uploaded within the Moodle structure, without using outside software. I experiment with several of the resources and activities. They look simple to use and edit.
Conclusion
Moodle is a toolbox, in the truest sense of the word. It gives you the ability to create many things for your classroom, but no instructions. You can play around with it fairly easily, once you have Editing turned on, but for many the use of some kind of instructions would be vital. This makes the website at http://docs.moodle.org a vital resource for anyone seeking to create a class web presence with moodle. The only thing you need is that most rare resource for teachers: time. However if you’re looking for a summer project – or a good use of district-allotted/mandated outside training, hooking up with a fellow teacher and putting together a Moodle site would be a great choice.
The only drawback is that the teacher themselves would have to pay for a website to upload and create a moodle site. However there are many inexpensive web providers like GoDaddy.com that can be used.
Moodle Project
This is an unvarnished account of my installation of Moodle onto my laptop computer. I had to use my Gaming computer because Moodle only runs on Windows XP at this point, though this should pose little problem to most people. Italicized portions are copied directly from the Moodle.org website.About Moodle
Moodle (Modular Object-Oriented Dynamic Learning Environment) is an Open Source Course Management System (CMS), also known as a Learning Management System (LMS) or a Virtual Learning Environment (VLE). It has become very popular among educators around the world as a tool for creating online dynamic web sites for their students. To work, it needs to be installed on a web server somewhere, either on one of your own computers or one at a web hosting company.What is Moodle?
The focus of the Moodle project is always on giving educators the best tools to manage and promote learning, but there are many ways to use Moodle:- Moodle has features that allow it to scale to very large deployments and hundreds of thousands of students, yet it can also be used for a primary school or an education hobbyist.
- Many institutions (do they mean “instructors”?) use it as their platform to conduct fully online courses, while some use it simply to augment face-to-face courses (known as blended learning).
- Many of our users love to use the many activity modules (such as Forums, Wikis, Databases and so on) to build richly collaborative communities of learning around their subject matter (in the social constructionist tradition), while others prefer to use Moodle as a way to deliver content to students (such as standard SCORM packages) and assess learning using assignments or quizzes.
► Moodle DocsDemonstration site
Our demonstration site is a full Moodle site with some sample courses that you can try as a teacher, student or even an administrator. Don't worry about making a mess, the whole site is reset to a clean state every hour.► Demonstration site
I decide to install Moodle on my laptop
http://docs.moodle.org/en/Installing_Apache%2C_MySQL_and_PHP.Installing AMP
(Redirected from Installing Apache, MySQL and PHP)Jump to: navigation, search
AMP, stands for Apache, MySQL & PHP. Moodle is written in a scripting language called PHP and stores most of its data in a database. The recommended database is MySQL. Before installing Moodle you must have a working PHP installation and a working database to turn your computer into a functional web server platform. As individual applications, Apache, MySQL and PHP can be tricky to set up for average computer users. Moodle uses one of the AMP programs to make the process easier. When you install a Moodle AMP package it installs both the server, database, PHP and Moodle itself with their basic interconnections already made.
In 2008, Moodle is rolled into XAMPP (which includes Perl) in the Windows complete package and into MAMP for the Mac OS complete package. Of course, the [Standard install packages] contains just the Moodle program.
TIP:Installing Moodle for the first time on a Localhost (a stand alone computer) is easy and can be a very useful tool even if a web based production Moodle Server is available for use.
I decide to follow the Tip’s advice and install the complete Windows package on my laptop. I was going to use my HP Pavilion DV2000, but it is loaded with Vista, which is incompatable with Moodle. I will therefore use my gaming computer, an Alienware laptop running Windows XP SP3. I’m going to install Moodle on it using the following instructions:
Complete install packages for Windows
From MoodleDocsJump to: navigation, search
Complete install packages are available from Moodle.org's Windows download page. The packages are designed for new installations on a server or standalone computer. Please note Moodle.org's [Standard install packages] only contain the Moodle code.
This document provides instructions for using the Windows packages. Separate instructions are available for Mac OS X packages.
The complete install packages allow Moodle to be installed, along with the prerequisites that includes a web server, database and scripting language (Apache, MySQL and PHP in this case). Several versions of the complete install package are available. The instructions on the download page provide guidance on which version is likely to be most suitable.
In short, complete install packages are designed to create a matched webserver and Moodle site on a standalone computer with minimal of effort.
We shall see.
Install complete package process
The complete install package is a zip file that contains a webserver called Apache, plus Moodle and Moodle's required MySQL database and PHP program.
There are three basic parts to the this install process.
- Download and unpack the complete install package.
- Start the webserver.
- Install Moodle using a web browser.
First create file structureDownload the package
Download Windows packed-zip file from Moodle.
Unpack the package
Unpack (extract files by clicking on) the zip file you downloaded to a drive or partition of your choice. The extract process will create three files ("Start Moodle", "Stop Moodle", and "README") and a subfolder called "server".
Note: There will also be a folder under this server subfolder, called \moodle that holds the Moodle program.
TIP: Create a folder and extract the files there. For example, you might have one folder called Moodle193 and another one called Moodle187 for different versions or purposes.
TIP: Make path to "server" subfolder simple. Best way if it will be in drive root. Like "D:\moodle193\server". Long path especially with any strange symbols can make XAMPP not working properly.
To make it simple I installed Moodle in Program Files \ Moodle. The icons for the program are very user friendly.
Second - start the webserver
Now you are ready to start the webserver. Use the "Start Moodle.exe" file which you should find in the top directory. Once the "Start Moodle.exe" program is open, don't close it, use "Stop Moodle.exe" for that purpose.
Note: These programs control both Apache and MySQL programs that operate the webserver. Some sites will individually start and stop Apache and MySQL with the Xampp bat files found in the "server" subfolder.
Tip: Alternatively, on a stand alone computer with several potential webservers that might be running, you can use the "xampp_restart.exe" file in the "server" subfolder.
Tip: You can also add shortcuts to the commands that start and stop the site in your Windows "start" menu.
Now you are ready to start the Moodle installation.
Warning: Windows XP requires the msvcr71.dll library file in order to run Xampp. Installing the .Net 1.1 framework (not .Net 2.0 and upper) could resolve it. You can also search for the file on Google, download it and copy it into the server/apache/bin folder.
When I click on “Start Moodle” a command window opens up and says that XAMP is being loaded. Then it closes and I’m not sure if anything happened. I start it again. It says that the apache file “httpd.exe” is already running. But there is nothing graphic to indicate that it is running. I check the Processes that are running using the Task Manager and see that indeed “httpd.exe” is running. As a test I hit the “Stop Moodle” button. A command window comes up saying “xampp is stopped” and the process disappears from the list. I restart xampp and begin step 3.
Third - start Moodle installation
Start your web browser and type localhost, or http://127.0.0.1 or http://localhost in the address bar. You will either start your first time Moodle installation or if it is already installed you will enter the Moodle site's Front Page or Login screen.
Tip: After Moodle installs, put the site in your "favorites" or as a "bookmark" in you browser.
Though I usually use Firefox as my browser, I start moodle with Internet Explorer since every PC will have that. IE comes up with some settings dealing with Intranets, which I am unfamiliar with. There is a help screen that comes up with info on Intranets; it’s a private network using internet protocols. Because the administrator usually “locks the door” on an intranet so that they can only be used by those inside, there is less security within the intranet. I am going to see how well I can install Moodle without changing these settings.
I set the language for English and hit the button. I pass all the setting requirements. Oddly the “next” and “back” buttons look like they are not showing any text. However what is happening is that the font size on the buttons and typeable windows is set to 1 or something, meaning I can’t read them. I copy what’s in the windows and paste the text into Notepad so I can read it. The default web address is “localhost”. The directory is moodle\server\moodle. Data directory is moodle\server/moodledata (yes, that was a slash instead of a backslash…don’t know why). This all looks OK as far as I can tell, so I click next.
For Database configuration I stick with the presets, naming it “Moodle”, no password, and “mdl_” for Tables prefix. My computer passes the Server Checks. I don’t elect to download any language packs, but it’s interesting that they are available. I wonder if students can switch between English and Spanish. This would be a boon to ELD students and their parents.
It finishes with “Configuration completed” and tells me “config.php has been successfully created”. NOTE: As I click through each of these screens IE beeps and asks about the Intranet settings, which I am not messing with at the moment. I accept the license and it begins “Setting up database”. This takes about a minute. It then goes through “Setting up module tables”. After another minute it says “workshop tables have been set up correctly”. It goes through several pages of “plugin”, “backup”, “blocks”, and “tables”.
It finally arrives at the “Setup administrator account” page. I set my username as “admin” and the password as “moodle”. Naturally, if this were to be set up for internet access I would have a complicated and arcane password. Then a “Front Page Settings” page came up. I think this relates to the Microsoft Front Page software.
When I click on “Save” it takes me to my BEAUTIFUL NEW MOODLE PAGE!!! There’s a calendar, and a frame for courses and users and grades, and it looks just like a Wiki or a Blog would look. I’ll admit, I’m pretty excited to see what I can do with it!
Moodle on
Now you are ready to Moodle !
The Site Administration block is on the left, the "Turn edit on" button in the upper right corner, withe the site description block just below it.
Congratulations - Moodle has been installed
This finishes the installation of a complete package. Type http://localhost in your browser and Moodle will open.
Your next task will be to configure Moodle to meet your needs. Don't worry, it is easy to change any of the settings now that Moodle is up and running.
Setting up a Course
NOTE: I am still having the problem where the font of the text boxes is 1 pt. which makes it very difficult to see. I am not sure how to change this so I am just copying the text onto another document so I can see it clearly.When you are logged in as a Site Administrator you have several options in a frame on the left side of the screen. I select Courses à Add/Edit courses. This brings up the “Course Categories” screen The first course category is “Miscellaneous”. This can be changed by clicking on the icon of the hand and pencil, “Edit this category”. I changed the category to “English” and clicked on the “Add new course” button. I give it the Full name “English X”, the Short name “EX” and the D number X1. I list a number of names for Roles (administrator, course creator, teacher). I OK the screen that comes up and it takes me to my “English X” class page.
The top of the screen shows where in the hierarchy this class sits. It is after the overall site name. As I click on other links such as “News” I see how these pages are under the class name “E.X”. Selecting the “Turn Editing On” button gives you a number of options. You can create a News forum that will list all the most recent changes on the site. The class is broken up into classes, making organization easy. Each week has a number of resources that can be added, like text pages or web pages, that can be edited and uploaded within the Moodle structure, without using outside software. I experiment with several of the resources and activities. They look simple to use and edit.
Conclusion
Moodle is a toolbox, in the truest sense of the word. It gives you the ability to create many things for your classroom, but no instructions. You can play around with it fairly easily, once you have Editing turned on, but for many the use of some kind of instructions would be vital. This makes the website at http://docs.moodle.org a vital resource for anyone seeking to create a class web presence with moodle. The only thing you need is that most rare resource for teachers: time. However if you’re looking for a summer project – or a good use of district-allotted/mandated outside training, hooking up with a fellow teacher and putting together a Moodle site would be a great choice.The only drawback is that the teacher themselves would have to pay for a website to upload and create a moodle site. However there are many inexpensive web providers like GoDaddy.com that can be used.